2011’s Dead Island was one of those rare times when there was a complete disconnect between how a game was received by critics and by ordinary gamers. Most reviewers were bemused at why the sub-par controls, the terrible graphics, and the awful script were being given a free pass. Likewise many gamers couldn’t understand why a zombie apocalypse version of Fallout was getting such poor scores. We suspect the same will be true of this pseudo sequel.

Prior to its release Dead Island was most famous for its rightly praised trailer, which it later transpired had been made by a completely separate company and had essentially nothing to do with the game. (The controversy this time round was a bizarrely tasteless statue in the collector’s edition.) But even that didn’t seem to put many people off.

The reason publisher Deep Silver are describing this as a spin-off rather than a sequel is no doubt so they can have an actual Dead Island 2 later on, although current rumours suggest the real sequel is called Dead World. Riptide does pick up straight after the end of the first game but in all other respects it feels like an expansion pack, and not the good kind.

This is one of those games were the list of new features starts off sounding inconsequential (there’s a new character to play as) and only gets less essential from there on in. The short story is that you’ve been stranded on a new tropical island that’s also overrun with zombies, with the added problem that there’s a monsoon going on and you haven’t brought your brolly.

In actual fact the constantly changing weather becomes the most significant new feature, with visibility proving highly variable and boats becoming the most reliable form of transport. (And by reliable we mean horribly slow and frustrating to use.) But that’s barely enough to fill a £6 slice of downloadable content, let alone a whole new standalone retail release. Especially when it’s blindingly obvious that this is the same game underneath.

Or perhaps not, because if anything the graphics appear to have gotten worse – although that’s probably only due to the passage of time. Characters still appear as barely animated shop mannequins, and the backdrops look like 10-year-old PC tech demos that haven’t quite been finished. Why developer Techland ever decided to set the games on an island we don’t know, because the game has some of the worst foliage around.

The visuals aren’t the main problem, but they do set the scene for a game that looks and feels unacceptably amateurish in its execution. If this was a fan-made mod we wouldn’t be so unsympathetic, but it’s certainly not priced that way and there’s no excuse for the lack of feedback when using guns and the fact that it still feels like you’re moving around rollerskates.

There have been some small improvements in the way the game handles, with the melee combat now at least enabling you to connect with your target most of the time. It’s still not very exciting though and that’s a problem because the lack of ammo means that’s what you’re left doing most of the time.

Predictably the dialogue and voice-acting is as bad as ever, even with new character John Morgan (who, in keeping with the game’s new features, is good with boats and hand-to-hand fighting). Techland are Polish so they’ve got some excuse when it comes to the script, although only up to a point when you realise they clearly didn’t spend any of the original game’s profits on a decent English script doctor.

They didn’t spend much time brainstorming new missions either and the endless array of fetch quests are just as boring and thankless as before. Especially when the people you’re trying to rescue still only spout the same one or two lines of badly written dialogue, in what is the least convincing attempt to sound human since the last Prime Minster’s questions.

We can fully understand how the idea of Dead Island must sound appealing, especially as a zombie apocalypse fits a Fallout style action role-player to a tee. But everything about how the idea has been implemented is found wanting, from the hollow combat to the simplistic role-playing elements (you can build new weapons out of parts but only according to a Dead Rising 2 style blueprint). The amateur hour presentation just makes it all seem even worse.

The only thing that saves the game from complete disaster is the online co-op, which is certainly not something offered in Fallout and its peers. Indeed, the new defensive missions in Riptide offer up some of the most compelling action in the whole game, as you work together to place traps, gun turrets, and fences against an incoming horde.

Other games have still done the same thing better though and apart from the ubiquitous zombies Dead Island’s list of unique features is perilously thin, and that was true of the original let alone this obviously rushed cash-in.

In Short: It’s clearly been made in a hurry and with no more care than the deeply flawed original, which means only the truly zombie-obsessed should apply.

Pros: The premise still has obvious appeal and the dynamic weather and improved melee combat is a step forward. Online co-op is fun with friends, especially with the new mission type.

Cons: The controls, gunplay, script, and voice-acting still feel like a no-budget fan mod. Role-playing elements remain simplistic. Very expensive for such a minor expansion.